Ready or Not
by AngelAnne
Summary: (semi-AU) After a crappy day, and an even crappier night, Taiki Kou decides he needs a change of scenery. But what's this? He's been KIDNAPPED?!


Ready or Not  
Written By: AngelAnne

* * *

"Here I come!"

"Gah, Yaten, no! I'm already in the bathroom!"

"ARGH! Seiya, for the love of everything sacred, would you please warn me next time?"

"But I did warn you!"

"You just said 'I'm already in the bathroom'. You could have been washing your hands!"

"Do you think I'd bother to warn you if I was just washing my hands?"

Taiki rolled over in his bed with a moan and covered his head with his pillow, trying in vain to block out the noise. "Will you two shut up? Someone is trying to sleep in here!"

"Seiya," said Yaten in a sing-song voice. "Do you think we should let him sleep?"

"I dunno, he's so much fun to tease," Seiya chuckled. "You can use the bathroom now, Yaten."

"Thank you," he said. "I've got to take a quick shower. I'm coated in sweat, and have I ever mentioned how much I hate sweat?..."

"Go away," snapped Taiki, "and I won't be forced to hurt you." All he wanted was for that ever-cheerful boy to get his head out of the doorway and allow him the sleep that he derserved. He was totally, absolutely exhausted; muscles he wasn't aware he had were hurting. He hated photo shoots almost as much as he hated signing autographs.

"I want to get sleep, because we have school in the morning. I can't get away with napping through lectures, unlike you two goof-offs. Now get out."

"Taiki, it hurts that you think I have such little respect for school," Seiya stumbled backwards melodramatically, grasping at his chest like he'd been shot. "You wound me."

"If you don't leave now, and I mean _right_now, I'll _really_ wound you. This is me, getting out of my bed and reaching for a pair of scissors..."

"Okay, okay," he huffed, turning to leave. "By the way, you cranky old man, there isn't any school tomorrow. It's a three-day weekend."

Without another word, Seiya left, slamming the door behind him.

"Yaten, I've been informed that we should talk softly, because Taiki the Almighty needs his beauty sleep!" he bellowed, only slightly muffled from the other side of the door and the running water in the bathroom. "If you anger him, he'll employ the wrath of his Scissors of Doom!"

Taiki sighed. "Why can't I get any respect around here?" he yelled, making sure he was heard (not that it was hard through the paper-thin walls.)

"You'll get it when you deserve it!" said Seiya loftily. "And I thought you wanted to get some sleep, Mister Perfect-Student-I-Have-a-Stick-up-My--"

Taiki threw off his covers in frustration, grabbed the nearest medium-sized object (his shoe), and flung the door open. He tried to glare, but it came out more like a lopsidded stare. In perfect form, as a baseball player might, he wound up and threw the shoe directly at Seiya's head. The black haired idol, not expecting anything more than idle threats, was caught off guard and recieved the rather large loafer squarely in the nose.

"Ow! I'd say that was uncalled for!" he yelped, clutching his face as the shoe hit the floor. "What will the fans say if I come out at the next concert with a deformed face?"

"Right now, Seiya, I'd don't care about the fans, your face, or anything except the inside of my eyelids," Taiki muttered, leaning against the door. "Are you done mocking me now, or do I have to get the other shoe?"

"...No, I'm done for tonight."

"A wise decision," said Yaten, coming out of the bathroom with his long, silver hair hanging wet and limp over one shoulder as he dabbed it with a towel. "His forehead might strangle you in your sleep if you make it angry."

It was silent for a moment, while the joke hung in the air. Taiki decided that comitting more violent acts would require more energy, something he most certainly didn't have. He turned around and shuffled away toward his bed, kicking the door shut with one foot. The other two idols just stared at the door, befuddled.

"I didn't think he'd let me get away with that," Yaten said, toweling off his hair. "Maybe he really is tired."

"It probably didn't register," said Seiya, tapping his nose gently. "Well, he didn't break anything." "Woulda served you right if he had."

"Hey, you made fun of him, too!"

"Yes, but I didn't wake him up."

"For the final time, _shut the fuck up_, or my forehead will strangle you in your sleep and it will do so without remorse!"

It took all of Yaten's strength to keep from laughing out loud. Instead he shook his head and made a few very interesting snorting noises. Seiya just stared, still shocked.

"He certainly gets strange when he's tired..." he muttered. "That's the first time I've ever heard him say 'fuck'. He always told me swearing was for morons!"

* * *

For all of his valiant efforts and not-quite-idle threats, Taiki was not rewarded with a peaceful sleep. Instead, he had one bizarre nightmare after the other. He tossed and turned, flailing his arms around and kicking off his sheets, trying to wake up. No matter how hard he tried, he was still trapped in strange dreams.

He was cornered in a distorted animal cage, too big at one end and too small at the other. It was biting cold, and he wasn't wearing much: just a flimsy shirt and a pair of thin pants. People were looming outside the cage, pointing and whispering. They seemed inhumanly large and they towered over him. Their eyes seemed to drill right through him.

"What's going on?" he shouted. His voice came out twisted and warped. It sounded like two voices in one, a deep male voice and a female voice. He looked from side to side and then down towards his feet, to get himself some bearings - and gasped. He was not quite male; his chest wasn't as broad and he was missing some other definitely male characteristics. But he wasn't female either; his chest was flat and was also lacking some definite female characteristics. The haunting melody that floated around in the air didn't make him feel any better. In fact, he only felt more chilled. The sound was a lone pipe, moaning softly above the chatter of the inhuman...well...humans.

"What's happened to me?" he whispered, startled at his bizarre metamorphosis.

"You're trapped," said another strange voice. He looked up and to his left to see Seiya, looking similarly warped. "We all are. We're not really men, but we're not really women. It could be funny, you know, in a masochistic sort of way..."

He (or could this Seiya even be termed a "he"?), smiled, looking sad with eyes that were empty and dark. It made Taiki want to vomit, to see those eyes without the light that had always been there. "It won't always be this way. When we find her..."

"We'll go back to the way it was," said Yaten, also strangely twisted. He clung to the bars of the distorted cage as if they were a lifeline. "She must be close. It won't be long now. We can't...We can't give up. No matter what."

It was then that he realized that Yaten was crying. And so was Seiya.

"Even if we're lonely," added Seiya, voice warbling pitifully. "Even if we're lonely, we can't give up on her. We have to be strong for her."

Taiki stared, aghast. It was so horrifying to see his friends this way. He wanted to reach out and help them, but he was frozen in place in a mixture of fear and shock. The haunting melody, their strange bodies, the awful stares of the shadow people who loomed nastily over their heads...It was enough to make Taiki want to break down as well. But as he had to be strong for her, he had to be strong for his friends. He had to be. Or he would have nothing left - nothing left but a shell - to call his own. To carry the name "Sailor Star Maker." To be strong, proud, like he was supposed to be...

But wouldn't it be okay to cry just once?

Just then, a woman walked by with red hair, done up in loops. She was smaller than the rest of the crowd, so she stood out. There was also an aura about here, bright and beautiful, that made seemed to beg for attention. And the smell...

She didn't look at any of them; just brushed by with her eyes fixed on the ground. Out of instinct, Taiki's hand shot out of the cage and grabbed her shoulder. It was her! He was sure!

The woman yanked it away like Taiki's hand had been on fire. "Don't touch me," she hissed, her head snapping up to look at Taiki. "Just leave me alone." She looked so fierce and bitter, Taiki was suddenly unsure that this woman was _her_, after all.

"I'm sorry," he said, his twisted voice nothing more than a hiss. "You just looked like someone I have to find..."

The cage faded, the crowds of leering people disappeared, and he was left in a swirling blackness with the sick parodies of his friends and the red-haired woman who wasn't as she'd seemed.

"Well, maybe she doesn't want to be found!" said the red-haired woman furiously, pointing a finger in Taiki's face. "Did you ever think about that? Maybe she got sick of you all and decided to leave!"

"No! No, it's not like that!" retorted Seiya, shaking its head furiously. "She got hurt, and she came here. She's just resting. But she needs us!"

"She'll get our message," agreed Yaten, putting its hand on one of Seiya's shoulders. "She'll hear our songs and she'll find us. We won't give up hope on her!"

"You just don't get it," snapped the woman. She rushed forward and gave Yaten and Seiya a mighty shove into the angry black mass that surrounded them. "You're failures! She doesn't know where you are! She won't get the message, and you're going to be stranded here! Alone!"

Yaten and Seiya were quickly swept up in the black fog, and despite their pleas and struggles, it quickly swallowed them into the oblivion. Taiki was now alone. Oh gods, how he hated that word. Alone. The desperation of his situation began to creep up on him, like a small poisonous animal. He was very uncomfortable very quickly, and he tried to back away, get her nasty voice out of his mind...

"You'll fail," the woman snapped again. "You'll all be failures, and you'll be alone, and what will you do then?

" Failure. He couldn't

wouldn't

wouldn't accept failure. Not when so many were dead

so many gone

forever

Don't think like that!

"We won't fail! We won't!" screeched Taiki, unable to listen to the talk any longer. He lunged for the woman. "Why don't you have faith in us?"

A tidal wave of the dark mass came crashing down around them both, some how both alive and not alive at the same time. It twisted around and flew through the air, putting both the red-haired woman and himself in its shadow. The last thing Taiki heard before he was crushed by the black chaotic mass was the woman's voice. Her new tone was soft and gentle, and right then it sounded just like...her. "Because you have no faith in yourself, Taiki."

Taiki fell out of bed, gasping for air. He hit the floor with a loud thunk, scraping his knee on the floor and drawing blood. He wheezed for breath for a few moments, trying to free his torso from his bed sheet straightjacket. The clock gave the room a strange glow, bright red numbers glaring 5:21 AM.

"Have I really lost my faith in myself?" he muttered, incredulous. "Am I really...that genderless being?"

He sat in the silence for a moment, slowly regaining his breath and replaying all of that hideous dream. With dread, he realized that everything his subconscious had told him was true; his view of the public, of his body, his friends, his future, it was all true. More than anything, Taiki didn't want to fail. He couldn't fail. Not with so much at stake.

"I've had enough of this. I've had enough of lying and being an idol. I have to get out of here for a couple of days," he said, desperately trying to rally himself. "I need to do something for myself. I can't be weak now. The princess needs me..."

He got up slowly and surveyed his room. He would just take some cash, a change of clothes, and take a few days to be on his own. To sort things out. To make sure he wouldn't go crazy...

"Should I leave them a note?" he wondered quietly. He considered it, but realized it would be too hard and embarrassing to explain. He'd just have to face their wrath when he returned home.

Taiki then shuffled around his room, gathered a few pieces of non-descript clothing and stuffed them into an empty garbage bag that was lying by his door. _I need to get a gym bag,_ he thought sheepishly, shaking his head. _but if I try and steal Seiya's, he'll hear me. I'm not really graceful this early in the morning, and Lord knows his room is a mess._ He took his wallet off the dresser, and pulled out all of the cash in the billfold, leaving his Juban student ID and driver's license as he tossed the empty wallet aside. _I won't be Taiki Kou this weekend,_ he thought. _I'm just going to be...me._ He pulled a baggy sweatshirt over his head and slipped on a pair of gym shorts (after taking a moment to wrap a bandage over his leg), followed by some old tennis shoes. With a cursory glance around the dark room, he slipped out into the hallway. Just as he was home free, he tripped over a large potted plant, jamming his bloodied knee into it and letting out a strangled yelp as it tipped over and broke.

"Let's pray that they are sound sleepers..." he hissed, waiting for the two drowsy idols to come bursting out, demanding an explaination.

There was no stirring at all from the other two bedrooms, and Taiki sighed in relief. For all of their convincing efforts otherwise, the photoshoot had exhausted them too. He got to his feet and snuck carefully toward the door, looking over his shoulder only once when he got there.

"See you on Monday."

He opened the door and walked out, garbage bag over his shoulder. He attempted to close the door, but the lock didn't click behind him. The apartment was now silent, except for the sound of breathing and a forgotten dripping faucet. For the next two hours, Taiki Kou would not be missed in his apartment.

* * *

"Where do I go now?"

Taiki stood on the stairs of his apartment complex, with no idea about what he was supposed to do now. What was a person supposed to do when they were getting away for a weekend?

It was nearly morning now; the sun was just beginning to peak over the skyline, so there was just enough light to see by. At this hour of the morning, no one was out but the last few drunk stragglers from local bars.

"Maybe I should go for a drive?" he asked himself. "Aa, I left my license up in my room and I can't drive our van. Well...If I get stopped by a police officer, I'll just make up some brilliant excuse to fool them. What's Seiya always saying? 'Damn the establishment!' yes, that's it. And then I tell him to stop swearing, and he tells me some very interesting things I could do with myself. Which would usually be followed by me throwing a volume of the encyclopedia at him."

He blinked, giving it some rational pondering. "Earlier, I said 'fuck.' I don't think I've every used that word before. I don't think I've used any swear words before!"

Taiki thought for a moment. Then he decided that swearing was an enjoyable, if inappropriate, way to express oneself, and he'd have to do it more often. Not in public, of course - he did have an image to maintain. But the look on Seiya's face might just make the experience worthwhile.

As his eyes darted over the mostly deserted street for a good vehicle, his noticed a little red sports car sitting halfway down the block, its motor running. There was no one around, so...perhaps the person had left their car to go up to their apartment? He looked around for other people, police officers, even a stray cat, but he saw no one.

"You only live once, right?" he said, and trotted, almost jovially, down the block.

Mukudori trotted down the stairs of his apartment building, dressed in his freshly ironed security guard uniform and ready for another hard day of law enforcement at the mall. Well, he was ready now that he had his underwear on.

"I want my nightshift back," he grumbled. "Naoki's going to regret the day he married the manager's daughter..." As he reached out to open the car door, he found his hand coming in contact with something squishy and very much like a human. Someone above him cleared their throat.

"Excuse me, sir," the person said. Mukudori couldn't quite tell who it was, or even whether it was a man or a woman. The sun wasn't high enough to light up their face and they were wearing very baggy clothing. "I'm in great need of transportation this weekend, and yours is the first that caught my eye. Would you mind terribly if I borrowed your car?"

Mukudori blinked, incredulous. Lend his car to a complete stranger, with only ten minutes to spare before he was late to work? His brand new car, that had not yet seen a mechanic and would not (he hoped) for a very long time? What did this person take him for?

"I can pay?" the person suggested, handing Mukudori a VERY large wad of money.

Who could argue with a very large wad of money?

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," he said clumsily, taking a couple of steps back. "But I need it back eventually..."

"Not to worry, sir. I'll have it in this exact spot before Monday morning, and it will be in perfect condition."

Taiki opened the door and tossed the garbage bag into the back of the little car, which made an "oof" sort of sound when it hit the seat, as though it deflated. With a polite nod, he climbed in and shut the door, speeding off down the empty street.

Mukudori watched his car get further and further away, looked at the money in his hands, and finally turned around to go back to his apartment. "I guess I'd better call in sick today..."

* * *

Mukudori - Japanese for "gullible person".

* * *

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE--

"Ahhh, dammit!" BEEP BEE-CRASH TINKLE SMASH CRUNCH

"Yaten, you idiot," Seiya growled loudly, rolling onto his back. "You aren't supposed to set your alarm on a weekend!"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Yaten grumbled back, a blue blur stalking past Seiya's door. "I forgot, so sue me. Taiki, get the hell up! If we have to be up at this hour on the weekend, you do too!"

There was a crunching sound and a yelp, followed by Yaten's, "Er..."

That got Seiya's attention. "What?" he questioned, rolling out of bed and peering blearily out into the hallway. Yaten was standing out in the hall, staring aghast at something in front of him.

"Yaten?" questioned Seiya again. "What is it?"

"I think something happened last night," Yaten said nervously. "The door to Taiki's room is wide open, and this pot's been broken..."

"Where's Taiki?" Seiya asked, starting to wake up more quickly.

Yaten stepped carefully into Taiki's room, and he made a sort of squawking noise. Seiya jumped over the broken pot and rushed inside. He saw the thrashed bed sheets, the blood on the floor, the scattered wallet contents...and panicked.

"Taiki!" Seiya turned on his heels and rushed out, rushing about and checking every room. "Taiki, you're just fooling me, right? Payback for last night? Hiding in my closet, waiting to jump out and scare us?"

As he dashed from the bathroom to the kitchen, he stopped in his tracks. The front door was wide open.

"Someone broke in," The realization set in on Seiya like a bag full of cinder blocks, and it made him nauseous. "Damn it, Yaten, someone broke in last night and kidnapped Taiki!"

"We don't know that," said Yaten, crunching as he stepped on the broken pot. He wasn't convincing himself. "We can't jump to conclusions. Taiki could just be out. Right?"

"None of his stuff is missing; his keys are still here, and his glasses," Seiya said, getting progressively more frantic. "There's blood on the pot and blood on his floor..."

"Shit."

"_Now_ what?" Of all the exclamations Seiya wanted to hear at that moment, "shit" was definitely not one of them.

"I...left the door unlocked last night," Yaten's hand went to his forehead.

Seiya resisted a jaw drop. "Excuse me!"

"I had the door open, 'cause I was so hot..." Yaten plunked down into a chair. "When I shut it, I forgot to lock it."

Seiya snatched up the phone, and his shaky hands fumbled with the receiver as he tried to dial.

"What do you think you're doing!" Yaten exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. He snatched the receiver out of Seiya's hand.

"Dialing the police," Seiya said, with a "duh, what do you think?" attached to the end. "Taiki's missing, there's blood, there's missing cash, the apartment is a mess. Draw some conclusions, Yaten!"

"For all we know, he went to get the paper!" Yaten said, making exasperated gestures with his hands. "You're overreacting!"

A brief breeze blew the door open further, to reveal that the paper was lying untouched in plastic wrapping on the doormat.

Seiya hated to feel triumphant at a time like this, but he did.

"Can I have the phone back now?" he asked, putting out a hand.

Yaten threw the receiver at Seiya, and stalked off to the bathroom. He yelled something Seiya couldn't quite hear, and then slammed the door hard enough to shake the floorlamps. The black-haired idol sighed, and again dialed the number to the police department.

"Hello? Yes, I'd like to report a robbery, and possible kidnapping..."

* * *

"Michiru, why did we have to wake up so early?"

"You're so cute when you whine, Haruka," Michiru peered over her paper and raised an eyebrow at her lover, who was puttering around by the stove.

"I know you love to watch the sun rise, but does that mean I don't get to sleep in?" Haruka continued, removing the tie from the bag of ground coffee and setting it aside.

"There are other reasons I like to be up early in the morning, you know." Haruka's hands suddenly slipped off the bag of coffee, and it landed on the kitchen floor with a plop. Michiru didn't even have to look at Haruka to know that the blonde girl was probably blushing.

Haruka picked up the fallen bag and brushed some of the powder off her slippered feet. "Yes, well, as much as I enjoy those other reasons, I need my beauty sleep."

Michiru giggled, flipping to the next page of the newspaper. "I don't think you need beauty sleep."

"Can't you two stop flirting for a moment, so the rest of your family can get a little peace?" grumbled Setsuna, shuffling into the kitchen wrapped in a dark scarlet robe. She blinked furiously at the amount of light in the kitchen, and then opened a cabinet to find herself a mug.

"Looks like Setsuna-mama didn't get enough sleep, either," said Hotaru cheerfully, skipping into the bright room in a soft purple nightgown, a big stuffed bunny in tow.

"Hn," Setsuna muttered sourly. She grabbed at the kitchen faucet and filled her cup with water. She brushed past Haruka and stuck the black cup into the microwave, heating it up sufficiently for her morning caffeine.

"I hope our activities last night didn't keep you awake," added Haruka, raising an eyebrow. Now, it was Michiru's turn to blush. She set her paper down and put one hand over her mouth in a futile attempt to conceal it.

"Maybe we should turn on the morning news?" she said, waving one hand in the direction of the tiny television in the corner.

Hotaru was way ahead of her aqua-haired mama, and was trying very hard to get the darned remote control to work. Finally, she got the correct combination of numbers and buttons, and the Channel 11 News appeared in a bunch of flashy graphics and music. She set the remote down on the table and scrambled into Michiru's lap.

"Good morning. I'm Jiyushugi Utosuki, filling in for Hara Fumina," said the man who appeared when all of the graphics had finished. He was a very serious, clean-cut man with sharp brown eyes and no facial hair to speak of. His short brown hair seemed to have gotten a liberal application of gel, because the television lights made it glisten. "Today is Friday, May 14."

"Television is so fake," grumbled Setsuna, plopping into a kitchen chair with a mug of steaming water and a little Earl Grey tea bag.

"Amen to that," chorused Haruka, plugging in the coffee maker and waiting for it to gurgle to life. "We'll get to weather and traffic shortly, but first are the morning's headlines." Utosuki shuffled the papers before him, and then looked up at the camera. "Transportation minister Enomoto Ryuuji has no comment toward the allegations that his department--"

Haruka pulled up a chair next to her lover, and wrapped a long arm around Michiru's slender shoulders. "Politicians and stars are all the same. They look harmless enough, but they're only out for pretty women and fast cash. Or pretty cash and fast women, take your pick."

"Shh. You're going to poke someone's eye out with that cynicism," whispered Michiru, giving Haruka a playful elbow in the ribs to silence her.

"I've just been handed some breaking developments." The stoic news anchor suddenly paled a shade as he read the note handed to him. "Oh boy..."

"'Oh boy'? Setsuna-mama, is it a bad thing when the news man says 'oh boy'?" asked Hotaru, scrunching up her face at the television.

"It could be," said Setsuna, looking a bit more interested as she sipped at the steaming tea.

"Early police reports tell us that Taiki Kou, member of the musical group Three Lights, has been missing for some five hours now. The apartment shared by the band was broken into during the night, and some valuables were also reported missing," Utosuki said, fumbling with the card in his hands and failing to look as professional as he had a few minutes before.

"It has been hypothesized that Mr. Kou was abducted from his home, but there is no official word. We will keep you up to date on this stunning news story as we receive the details."

Three of the four occupants in the kitchen stared at the television set, waiting for the message to sink in. Haruka just reached for the remote and shook her head.

"What a bunch of lies," she said grumpily. "They make up awful stories like that to get attention." She changed the channel to the public access station, with some children's shows more suited to Hotaru's taste than her own.

"But Haruka, I don't think--" Michiru said, but Haruka kissed her quickly on the lips to end the sentence.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing." Haruka's tone made it clear that the topic was closed, and the little family went about the rest of their morning business in a strange, uncomfortable silence.

* * *

Taiki couldn't figure out why all of the women in the restroom were staring at him as he slipped into a stall. Certainly, he was allowed to make use of the facilities as any other...woman...

Oh. Right.

He reminded himself again of the reason he'd avoided the men's room in the first place - because on a journey of self-discovery, one must be ones true self. That, and leaving the men's room with boobs would be incredibly difficult to explain.

Taiki threw a glance downward in the general direction of his pants. "I'll be so thankful to get rid of you," he grumbled, and then fished around in the garbage bag for something. Finally he produced a small pen; streamline and black, decorated with small golden olive blossoms. He'd cause too much commotion if he actually spoke the words, so instead he focused on a picture. That's how it worked, didn't it? Think about what you want, and you'll get it?

If only that worked more often.

Taiki leaned against the wall of the toilet stall and closed his eyes. He let his mind wander back to another time, browsing the mall for gorgeous formal gowns instead of suits, watching Yaten worry about whether the shoes matched the earrings...

There was no flash, bang, or burst of sparkly hearts and stars. It lasted only a moment, but when Taiki's eyes opened again, they looked down

and found

a well-rounded chest, where a flat one had been moments before. She breathed a sigh of relief. Dropping the pen back into the black garbage bag, she reached back with her foot and flushed the toilet (although if people had been suspicious before, something as simple as that wasn't going to fool them.) She slipped out of the stall and out the door, returning to the spaceous interior of Kuroki's Department Store. Across the vast marble floor was a display, stacked to the top with flowing peasant blouses and tight embroidered pants. Taiki shook off her premature excitement. What if someone saw her trying that on?

_They'd think you was just a normal teenage girl going shopping, of course!_ chided her subconscious. But...vanity was something she abhorred! She was out to write some poetry, think heavy thoughts, not buy pretty new outfits!

_Come on,_ her subconscious nagged again. _You never get to shop for yourself anymore. There's always a consultant around to do it for you._

She didn't have the chance to argue with herself for very much longer, however, because quickly a department store lackey had attached herself to Taiki with a vice grip, fake smile screaming "I'm working on commission!"

"Oh, today is your lucky day!" the lackey chirped, dragging Taiki in the direction of the display. "This is a brand new line, straight from the French runway!"

She gave Taiki's unique outfit a quick appraisal, clucking her tongue disapprovingly. "And believe me, girlfriend, you are so in need of a makeover. I'll be happy to help you!"

Taiki's eyebrow twitched; she had the perfect nasty remark to give this overzealous woman -

"Well, I suppose I could use some help. I don't get to do this often," she relented, eyeing a long patchwork skirt with drawstrings. It was so very...retro, as Seiya would have said.

The lackey squealed. It would be a good day for profits. "Great! Now, if you like that skirt, I think you'd like to try this top with it..."

Two hours (and fourteen different outfit combinations) later, Taiki was finally getting back into the swing of being a woman. She resisted the urge to laugh aloud at the thought. She swung open the dressing room door...and the lackey gasped.

Taiki cleared her throat. "So, how'd I do this time?"

"Stunning," the lackey blurted out, before she had the chance to think of something different. She blushed. "I mean, um, I think that's the best one yet!"

Even Taiki had to admit she'd finally found something she liked. The top was made of soft white fabric, embroidered with small flowers. Its neckline plunged and stopped right at the point where very little was left to the imagination. The sleeves were long, almost excessively so, extending out past her long fingertips by inches. Her slender stomach showed underneath the fabric, and it was so tight that Taiki wondered why she'd bothered to get herself a bra at all. (It had taken her awhile to remember that she did, indeed, need one.) She'd also picked the skirt she'd eyed earlier, with the varitable rainbow of fabrics quilted together, with nothing more to hold it up than a simple elastic waistband. She'd traded in the old running shoes for a simple pair of black sandals, but the skirt was so long that no one could have seen them anyway.

The lackey finally remembered to shut her slacking jaw as Taiki reached back and roughly yanked the tie out of her ponytail.

"I look like one of those free-love women from the 1960s," she said, turning her head to look at her profile in the long mirror.

"But that look is in right now," the lackey pointed out, and Taiki gave her a glare.

"I'll take it." Taiki pulled out a large wad of bills and handed them to the lackey, who ran joyfully off to the cash register.

As she began to gather her old, grimy clothes and put them into her garbage bag, a familiar melody buzzed past her ears over the store's speakers.

"Straight from the recording studio, the super-idol band Three Lights have released a new single!" chirped the DJ. "Aren't they just the hottest? Like, did you guys see the outfit Seiya was wearing at their last press conference? Red is SO his color! Oh, um, what was I doing? Oh yeah! Here it is - See Me, Boku-tachi no Jidai!"

_At least it's getting airplay,_ Taiki mused. _I could do without the constant chatter about our looks, but...the song is getting out there, and that's all that matters._ Taiki hoped that her friends weren't making a big deal about her abscence, as the lackey returned with a receipt for her to sign. The lackey helped her snip the tags on her new outfit, and Taiki strolled out the front door. She reached her "rented" vehicle just as the song was interrupted, with breaking news about Taiki Kou's kidnapping.

* * *

"I'm not mad."

"Yes you are," Yaten interrupted, pointing a delicate finger at Seiya. "Your face is red."

The black-haired idol just sighed. "I'm _not_ mad. I just want to know who leaked this to the press."

Police Chief Yuuta Kenji cleared his throat. "I promise, sir, we're looking into it. I assure you it wasn't intentional, and as soon as we--"

"Yeah, they'll be properly reprimanded, yada yada yada," Yaten interrupted. "Right now, I'm more interested in things that rhyme with 'where the hell is Taiki?'"

"We're working as fast as we can, sir," Kenji paused to listen to his radio as his deputies checked in, "but so far we don't have much."

"What _do_ you know?" Seiya began to fidget with the end of his ponytail.

At that moment, a red-haired woman bustled into the room, forensics case in one hand and file folders in the other. "The blood on the broken pot was Taiki Kou's, as well as the blood on the floor of the bedroom."

When Yaten regarded her with a bristled look, she smiled partially. "Kanbe Nao, Tokyo Criminalistics. At your service, Yaten-san."

"Please, just Yaten."

"Certainly, sir." She peered into the folder. "Security tapes showed one man exiting the building at 4:31 AM. He was wearing workout clothing and carried a bulging, shifting garbage bag."

Seiya's face turned white, and Yaten's back stiffened.

"It doesn't necessarily mean," Nao continued hastily, "that Taiki-san was in the bag."

"But that's what it sounds like," Seiya said, looking worried.

"A resident of the Kawasaki Complex down the block said that the person carrying the bag offered him a large amount of money so they could take his car; they were very polite about it, he said," Nao pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, waiting expectantly for one of the idols to respond. "And the contents of Taiki-san's wallet were removed."

"The record company had just paid us...Taiki might have had a lot of money in his wallet." Yaten reached out a hand and gripped Seiya's shoulder, as he began to wobble. "But I doubt that's what they were after."

Nao nodded, taking that down. "Want my professional opinion?"

"That's what we pay you for, Kanbe-san," Kenji said, raising one eyebrow.

Nao smirked, and then suddenly became solemn. "This has all the makings of a 'derragned stalker,' if you will. When we deal with a stalker, there are two possibilities. One, they want the individual in question to do something for them - break them into the business, give them large amounts of money, marry them, the like. The mentally unstable say that their ideas were stolen out of their head, or there were subliminal messages that caused someone they know to do horrible things..."

"There's nothing like that in our music!" Seiya burst out quickly, and then added "I mean, we'd never write music that would make people do horrible things..."

"I don't mean to imply that you would," Nao said, "but if the person is mentally ill, it won't matter. That's how they perceive things."

"My other assumption was that it was not a stalker at all, but a hit-for-hire," she continued, flipping through a pile of information. "Everything looks like it was a professional. None of us could pick up fingerprints from the pot or the door - that is, any fingerprints that didn't belong to the three of you. There were no shoe prints - again, that we couldn't trace to any of your shoes - no hair fibers that aren't yours..."

Seiya's stomach did not like the words "hit-for-hire" and proceeded to drop further towards his feet.

"What I want to know is..." Yaten sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why Taiki? Why ONLY Taiki?"

"Who knows?" Nao shrugged. "There could be hundreds of reasons. Looks, voice, the fact that he does the majority of the writing..."

Suddenly, Nao's cellphone began to beep to the tune of Nagareboshi He. Yaten regarded her with a smug look; she blushed faintly and snapped it open. "Nao speaking," she barked formally, though she was still blushing. There was a pause. "Nothing new here. No fingerprints, no hair, no shoeprints. Please tell me you got something from the tape? ...Damnit. Alright. Check in at 12? ...Ja."

Seiya and Yaten waited for her to say something as she clicked her phone shut.

Nao shook her head. "We're still at square one. My associate, Mao Miki, had the security tape at HQ. The surveilance video is so blurry, we can't identify the person exiting the building. We have nothing."

Yaten didn't like that word, nothing. He didn't want Taiki to end up as a statistic on "Tokyo's Unsolved Mysteries."

All he wanted was Taiki to come back alive.

* * *

"WHAAAAAAAA!"

Seiya winced. "Odango, not in my ear..."

Usagi latched onto Seiya by his collar. "He can't be missing! Taiki-san is tall; couldn't he just karate-chop an intruder?"

Yaten tried wiggling out of Minako and Makoko's protective grip, but it wasn't of much use. "It's not really that simple. If they just snuck up while he was asleep...despite his complaining, once he's asleep, he's out like a light. He'd never hear them."

"Promise you won't get kidnapped too?" Usagi gave Seiya the most pitiful, "I'm a homeless puppy" face.

"I'll try very hard, Odango," Seiya said. He just had to smile. Usagi was so cute when she was worried, or when she was angry, or when she was happy...

_Stop that!_ he chided himself. _Taiki is missing, hurt, possibly even dead and you're thinking about how cute Odango is? Some friend you are._

"Itcan'tbetruepleasetellmeTaikisanisn'tmissingPLEASEPLEASEtellmeit'sajoke!"

Makoto blinked. How could Ami managed to get all that out in one breath?

Ami heaved, trying to catch her breath. She had run all the way from the bus stop - four blocks away.

"Unfortunately, Mizuno-san, it's not joke." Seiya sighed. "Man, and the last thing we said was that stupid forehead joke..."

"You couldn't know, Seiya-kun. It's not your fault." Usagi looked up at him, smiling. She'd gone from wailing to controlled in a matter of seconds. "Taiki-san will be alright."

Ami wheezed, unaccustomed to the sudden burst of speed, "Usagi-chan is…right…" she managed to get out as her body's demand for oxygen outweighed her desire to be vocal.

"Ami-chan, Usagi being right would be an historic moment…" Seiya yelped as a pair of long arms wrapped around his torso and pulled him backwards. Rei, having materialized from nothingness, peeked around his ribcage at Usagi and stuck out her tongue.

Usagi fumed. "Rei-chan! You're nasty!"

"But at least I'm right!"

Usagi squawked indignantly, and Seiya braced himself to be caught in another civil war.

He need not have worried.

"Taiki-san is still missing, Usagi-chan's intelligence aside," Makoto reminded them all from behind Yaten's left shoulder, "There has to be something we can do besides snip at each other."

"Who's snipping?" Rei asked, being sure to give Usagi's head a good bop.

"Rei-chan," Makoto warned in her best maternal voice.

Rei sighed and released Seiya.

"Well, Kino-san, what do you suggest?" Yaten raised an eyebrow.

Makoto blushed slightly as she scuffed at the floor with her shoe, "I don't know," she admitted, "Something…productive?"

"Like wait for the police to call?" Yaten shook his head, "We're doing that NOW."

"…we need cake!" Usagi suddenly exclaimed and bounded towards the kitchen, "Nothing cheers me up like cake!" Boing, boing, boing, and she was in the kitchen!

Everyone assembled blinked stupidly after her. Disasters. Food. It all went in hand with Usagi Tsukino.

Besides, they could use a distraction from worrying about Taiki and what better way than to worry about the flammability of the apartment complex?

* * *

It was the general consensus that nothing could cheer anyone up like a kitten.

Except for maybe three litters worth of mewling kittens.

Taiki sighed as the salesgirl tried to position yet another kitten into her arms, as another half dozen crawled around her feet.

"We call this one 'Patches' because she's so splotchy!" she chirped perkily.

"Really." Taiki _had_ tried to muster some enthusiasm for her response…but none was forthcoming. It was hard to be enthusiastic when you were trying to juggle seven kittens and ward off a bouncy clerk.

"Oh yes!" the girl snapped at her gum and reached back into the kitten pen, "And this one is-"

"Miss, please!" Taiki interrupted, "I can't hold anymore!"

The salesgirl seemed to be thinking about this, snapping her gum a few times more. Then, she smiled perkily. "You know, you look a lot like--"

"Taiki Kou, yes, I get that a lot," Taiki said, trying to be diplomatic (translated: refrain from ripping her brains out.) "And you already mentioned it."

"Did I mention I like gum?"

"Yes."

Now devoid of conversational topics, the salesgirl became distracted by a cage full of bunnies. Taiki sighed in relief, and tried her best to sit down with an armful of squeaking fur.

"Seiya would never let me hear the end of this," she muttered to herself, as Patches tucked its black and white head into the crook of her arm. "Especially since I have, on more than one occasion, refused to let him get an animal."

However, Taiki had to admit that it was more for the animal's safety than anything else.

A small orange kitten, aptly named Orange, began to lick Taiki's fingers. She smiled, admiring the purple nail polish she'd administered on herself an hour before. It was silly and frivolous, and damn was it fun.

Fun. Every time Taiki remembered that she was having fun, she would always come back to that dream...

"What have I become?" she asked Patches. The kitten peeked up at her with big, soulful green eyes, and said in a determined voice, "mew." Immediately following that, it resumed its comfy position in the folds of Taiki's enormous blouse.

"Of course. That makes perfect sense," Taiki shook her head, and scratched the kitten behind its ears. It began to purr like a malfunctioning boat motor. Orange, suddenly very jealous at the attention her counterpart was receiving, climbed up into Taiki's lap. It began to clamor for attention, rubbing furiously against her...well, against her breasts.

Taiki found this completely absurd, and she had to giggle. She'd forgotten entirely about giggling.

She found herself floating in a memory; there was a mama cat and her kittens hiding under a bush, right outside her window...

_"Yaten, I said get out here!"_

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Sheesh. ...What?"

"Get me a towel, would you?"

"Why do you need a tow-- awwwwww..."

"Why are you guys hiding behind a bush? Do I hear a sex scandal?"

"Just get me a towel, Seiya."

"...that's really sick, Taiki."

"I'm going to count to three, and then I'm going to hit you."

"No, please, Taiki; let ME do it."

"Yaten, put that stick down!"

Taiki shook her head in amusement, and looked down to find two sleeping kittens buried in her skirt. She hadn't the heart to move them, and so she was just content to watch them breath quietly.

"What a life you have," she said quietly, as two other kittens climbed into her lap. "You don't have to worry about missing princesses, or being an idol. All you have to do is eat and sleep and look cute. What I wouldn't give for a gig like that."

Taiki sat in that same position for hours, until the sun had begun to set and the store closed up for the night. The kittens were still asleep, and so with some very tricky maneuvers with her skirt, she managed to extract Orange and Patches, and a couple of their friends, from her lap.

As Taiki took her bag and headed out the door, she could barely hear a breaking news story interrupt the mall's incessant muzak. She shook her head - she didn't want any of those depressing current events. She just wanted to get away.

"The Tokyo Police Department has informed us that a body has been found in a dumpster outside Tokyo International Airport. The body appears to be of a male, and the Forensics Department estimates that he is between 16 and 18 years of age, with what appears to be long brown hair. The body was badly burned and cut, and cannot be identified visually. No word yet as to whether this could be the body of missing idol Taiki Kou, but a shattered copy of the Three Lights' CD was found in the dumpster, appearing to be placed delibrerately. We'll keep you posted..."

* * *

The glass of milk shattered immediately on impact with the floor.

" I think I'm going to be sick." Yaten bumped into Makoto's fridge, edging away from her radio.

Seiya stared at the remains of the glass. "Taiki..."

When Yaten's cellphone began to buzz, he furiously ripped it from his belt and threw it on the floor. It buzzed plaintively for another few seconds, and then stopped.

Tears began to well up in Usagi's eyes. "It can't be!"

"Yaten-kun, are you--?" Minako tried to put her hand on Yaten's shoulder, but he brushed her off angrily.

"Leave me alone," he snarled huskily. "Just...just leave me alone." Minako pulled back like she'd been stung.

"I'm sorry," she offered softly, tugging on the end of her bow.

"Well, so am I, but that's sure as hell not going to bring Taiki back!" he snapped again. Minako swallowed hard and looked away.

"You don't know it's him," Makoto put in softly. Yaten fixed her with a smoldering glare

. "Don't tell me what I do and don't know! I can't feel him!" Yaten pounded on his chest. "I can't feel him in here! You're telling me that my heart is lying?"

"Of course not. I'm telling you that the police haven't identified the body yet. For all you know, this could be someone entirely different." Makoto looked down on him, the corners of her eyes just barely sparkling.

"There you go again, telling me what I know! Here's something _you_ should know, Kino-san." Yaten glared up at her, one finger pointed in her face. "I know that the three of us have a bond tighter than family, than love, than...than anything! And when Taiki's star suddenly goes out in my chest, I know it's the God-honest truth. So the police can test that body all they want. Taiki's dead."

Dead. The word rang out like a bell in the kitchen, causing everyone to wince slightly. Seiya touched his face slowly. He hadn't even felt himself begin to cry. He hadn't cried in a long time. But if Yaten couldn't feel Taiki, then it was the perfect time to start...

"Seiya, I'm so sorry," Usagi whispered, touching his face gently. "I wish you could have had a happy ending."

"I've never had a happy ending." Seiya closed his eyes. "I don't know what one looks like."

_Princess, I'm sorry...Without Taiki, our message may never get to you. _ "I'm sorry about the glass, Kino-san," he said softly.

"I can replace it." She was still looking at Yaten with her most motherly, sympathetic eyes.

When Yaten's cellphone began to ring again, he smashed it furiously with the heel of his shoe. The plastic splinters skidded across the floor, and some landed on Ami's shoes. She looked down, her bangs covering her eyes.

"I-I'm very sorry, I have to--"

Ami bolted out of the kitchen in a flurry of fabric, and subsequently out of the apartment, swinging the door shut behind her.

"Excuse me," Rei nodded briefly to Usagi, and then made her exit a little more quietly.

Rei shut the door behind her. "Ami-chan?"

She found her friend right outside the apartment, clutching her arms and crying softly.

"Ami-chan, I'm sorry. I know you were..." Rei searched for the right word. "I know you...uh..."

"Why, Rei-chan? Why? We try so hard to protect the people we love, we can save the whole planet in a flurry of magic sparkles, but..." Ami sobbed quietly. "But the real world isn't like that! The rest of the world doesn't know about Galaxia. They don't know about phages. They just act on their own whims, for their own good, without a care for who they might hurt..."

Rei put her arm on Ami's shoulders, letting her friend rest on her chest. "I know, Ami-chan, it's terrible. But we just have to support Usagi, and our friends. That's the best we can do."

Ami nodded. "I know. But, something so senseless..."

She sniffed. "Taiki-san would berate me for this - he was always so controlled with his emotions. He'd think me silly to be weeping about him.

" "I may not have known Taiki-san as well as I like to think," Rei said quietly, "but I think he'd be touched that you care so much."

"He always looked so sad, Rei-chan, as though he was carrying the weight of a million people on his shoulders. I wanted to help him. I just wanted to make him smile."

_"I told you I'd come if the rain stopped, Mizuno-san."_

"I wish I'd had the chance to hear him say my first name..."

* * *

Taiki hummed quietly under her breath, turning the Billy Joel CD over and over in her hands. Now there was a brilliant songwriter. His lyrics were poetic and emotional, full of elegant language and yet so real to life...

His was the life she'd always wanted to lead. Writing, singing, music for its own sake. Not this agonizing pain that pulled her down every time her pen touched paper...

She picked out two other CDs, shouldered the new purse she'd picked up at the mall, and headed for the checkout counter.

Halfway there, she saw a familiar red suit and nearly tripped over her own two feet. Seiya was staring at the display of Three Lights CDs, fists clenched. Taiki noticed that his knuckles were bloody.

Panic flushed through her veins. _Did he get into a fight? Was there a phage? Was Yaten hurt? Was __he_ hurt!

With one quick motion, Seiya swept the CDs off the display with one of his bloodied hands. They all crashed to the floor, crunching violently on the tile and drowning out the soft muzak from the ceiling.

_I should go talk to him,_ Taiki looked down. _If something happened..._ _But what will he say when he sees that I'm female?_ As a precaution, Taiki undid her braid and let her chestnut hair fly all over the place. She pulled a few errant strands into her face, and pulled out a pair of sunglasses for good measure.

She took a few cautious steps toward him, touching him on the shoulder. "Sir? Are you alright?" Seiya turned around slowly. His face was sticky with tears, and his bloodshot eyes narrowed in Taiki's face. "Look, I'm not in the mood for autographs now."

Taiki winced at the sharpness of Seiya's tone. Well, he hadn't figured her out yet, but he definitely didn't seem happy... "I'm not after an autograph. I wanted to see if you were alright. Your hands look like they took a beating."

Seiya snorted icily. "Yeah, but the wall looks even worse."

_He was beating up a wall? He must be furious with something...or someone._

"Maybe you should get them bandaged," Taiki offered. Seiya snorted again.

"What do I care about my hands now? I can't even look at my guitar, let alone touch it..."

_...what? Our music is so important to Seiya; what could have caused him to say that?_http/www.harmony. Taiki looked nonplussed. "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but...why is that?"

Seiya laughed bitterly. "You must be the only person in the whole country who hasn't heard the news."

"I've been trying to avoid the news. It's all very depressing."

"Good for you," Seiya's shoulders began to shake. "I'm sure you're familiar with the band I'm in."

Taiki squashed a smile. "More intimately than you might think, Seiya-san."

"Well, you'll be very sad to know that Taiki was found dead earlier this afternoon. He was kidnapped from our apartment last night, and they found his body about two hours ago."

Taiki dropped her purse.

_I'm...what?_ A sort of strangled squawk escaped Taiki's mouth, and she backed into a large cardboard cut-out of Ayumi Hamasaki.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Seiya's laugh sounded like a humorless bark, and Taiki shrunk back further.

"I-I'm terribly sorry, Seiya-san, th-that's--"

"Yeah, it's a big fucking loss. Yaten's locked himself in the bathroom - probably overdosed on sleeping pills by now, the lucky bastard - and I'm here, destroying whatever's left of my sanity."

He laughed bitterly again. "And listen to me - Taiki always hated it when I swore. Guess it doesn't matter now, does it? Damn fuck shit hell fuck fuck FUCK!"

"I..." Taiki couldn't get her brain to form words.

Seiya looked at some of the shattered jewel cases. "If he'd just screamed once, I would have come running...Taiki, I'm sorry..."

Taiki couldn't say anything. She wasn't dead - she was right here, for Chrissakes! How could she possibly be dead? She had to explain - tell Seiya who she was - it'd all be okay...

She grabbed her purse and broke out into a run, dropping the CDs as she flew out the door and toward her car.

Seiya watched her go. He couldn't help thinking that she looked familiar, somehow...

Taiki threw her purse into the backseat and landed heavily in the driver's seat. She slammed her fists on the car horn, which startled some nearby pigeons.

She was stupid. Stupid to think that her own feelings, her own sanity, mattered.

"Look at what you've done," she snapped at herself. "Yaten's probably killed himself, Seiya's probably going to destroy half that store in self-loathing, and just think about what you've probably done to Mizuno-san...You idiot. You selfish, pigheaded DUMBASS.

"They're never going to forgive me for this..." She let her head hit the steering wheel, and it let out a long pitiful whine. "I wish I was dead - maybe my chest would stop aching..." _Princess, why do I have to be such an idiot? I can get perfect scores in school, but I run away from my problems. The people I love get hurt because of me... Why couldn't I have just died with the rest of our planet?_

Suddenly, there was a puff of wind. Taiki smelled the familiar scent of olive blossoms brush past her nose. Somewhere in the cavern of her heart, a voice echoed.

_"There is always hope, Taiki. You have to remember, even when I'm not with you, I'm praying for you..."_

Two tears hit the steering wheel with pitiful plops as the first stars peeked out in the night sky.

* * *

Seiya slammed the door harshly. "Yaten, have you killed yourself yet?"

"No!" came the screech from the bathroom.

"Well then let me in, so I can give it a try!" "Go away, Seiya!"

"I wish I could!" Seiya threw himself on the couch, springs creaking underneath him. He could see a full moon rising in the open window.

"Stop mocking me," he yelled at it. "You hear me? Stop it!"

_"Taiki, what are you doing?" "Getting inspired." "You're staring at the ceiling fan." "I'm imagining a full moon. A lover's moon that fills up the whole sky..." "Uh, we have a TV for that kind of thing." "..." "OW! Taiki, let go of my hair! LET GO!"_

He looked at his knuckles. He could still feel a small trickle of blood running down his right arm, but his hands were mostly a crusty scarlet now.

What did it matter if his knuckles hurt? Taiki wouldn't feel anything ever again.

There was a knock at the door.

"Go away! We don't want whatever you're selling!"

Another knock.

"Go away, I said!"

Another knock. Two more.

"I'm going to call the police if you don't leave!" Seiya got to his feet angrily. "GO AWAY!" Taiki sighed. This was stupid. They wouldn't want her back, not after this. It would just better if she went away. She turned to leave -- _Think of the Princess. This isn't for you. It's for_her.

Taiki knocked one more time.

"Oh, for God's sake! Seiya, open the fucking door!"

Taiki winced. Well, at least she knew Yaten wasn't dead...

"FINE!" Seiya wrenched violently at the doorknob, and the door nearly hit Taiki in the face when it swung outwards.

"What the hell do you want!" Seiya snapped.

Taiki looked up at Seiya, violet eyes beginning to sparkle. "Seiya..."

Seiya stared. The woman from before - he knew why she looked familiar...

Taiki's next words were almost inaudible. "Can you ever forgive me?" Seiya could feel his own heart breaking. He could only stare in silence, and then turn his back on her. More tears - all he'd done today was cry!

Taiki sucked in a sharp breath as Seiya turned away. It was his right to turn away; his hate was nothing less than she deserved.

"I know, I'm supposed to be the smart one. I'm still not sure how I could be so incredibly selfish, so incredibly stupid..."

She looked down at her hands. She didn't deserve less than his silence, either. She pushed the door nearly closed, so the neighbors wouldn't hear them.

"Look, if you don't want to tell people I'm alive, I'm okay with that. I'll just disappear - Tokyo's big enough. You can just forget you saw me; you don't have to tell Yaten." She prayed to every god there was that Seiya wouldn't ask her to leave, but she knew that he would... "It would probably just be easier that way."

Seiya's back stiffened, and he turned so only his profile was facing her. Taiki could hear that bitterness come back...

_"How could you do this to me? To us? How could you? ... Get out. Get out! I don't ever want to see your stupid, arrogant face in this apartment again! We can find the Princess without you!"_

"I'm sorry about that stupid forehead joke," he said quietly, clenching and unclenching his fists in an act of self-control. He wanted to badly to stop the tears on his face, but he couldn't. Odango was rubbing off on him.

"I think I've gotten over it," Taiki replied quietly.

"What made you leave? Was it me?"

"No!" The answer leapt out of Taiki's mouth in a hurry. "It was my own infirmities, not yours!"

"You don't know how much I want to believe that..."

Taiki set down her purse. "Why don't you?"

"Because I must have done something stupid. That's what I'm good at, isn't it?"

"Where did you get an idea like that?"

Seiya shrugged, still keeping half-hidden. "My grades are low, my interest is even lower, I can't get my mind off Oda--Tsukino-san and on other things, more important things...I'm always making fun of you and Yaten. It's probably my fault the Princess left without us."

"Now you are being stupid." Taiki drew herself up to her full height and walked right over to Seiya, glaring down at him. "Don't you dare take the blame for something out of our control. Don't you _dare_."

When Seiya shrunk away in shame, Taiki sighed and stepped back a little.

"I maintain that if anyone has been stupid, it's me. I couldn't talk to you about what was bothering me. I thought I was the one who was supposed to absorb the emotional excess; I was supposed to be the untouchable, brooding one."

She looked at her hands. "And then, all of a sudden, it got to me. I couldn't take all that pressure on my soul. If I could have just been stronger, I wouldn't have disappeared..."

At that moment, Yaten took the opportunity to burst out of the bathroom.

"Seiya, you bastard, gimmie the key to the medicine cabinet! I'm out of sleeping -- pills..." Yaten ground to a puffy-faced, frizzy-haired halt when he saw a very female Taiki standing at the door.

Taiki muttered something that sounded a lot like, "shit" and looked at her feet. If Seiya wasn't going to berate her, Yaten certainly would.

_You self-absorbed, smug little bitch! How could you leave like that? Why didn't you tell us you were so miserable? We could have talked! We could have HELPED! How could you make me worry like this? How could you be so selfish? God, and to think, I trusted you..._

Yaten threw himself on Taiki with amazing force and began to cut off her blood supply. He immediately began to sob into her shirt.

Taiki was, in a word, speechless. She just stood there for a moment, blinking to regain her lapsed sanity, and then put her arms around Yaten.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to leave like that. I didn't know..." Yaten sobbed something like "apology accepted" into Taiki's chest and continued to soak her shirt.

"Um." Taiki looked up at Seiya and met his downcast eyes with a rather shameful glance. "I think I would be correct in assuming that you don't hate me..."

"I'd never hate you," Seiya sniffled. "Damn, you're so dumb, Taiki. For a genius, I mean. I could never hate you..."

Not with the same bodily force as Yaten, but with a good lunge all the same, Seiya wrapped himself around his companions.

"What do we do now?"

Taiki sighed. "I don't know. What do we tell the press? The police? Tsukino-san and the rest?"

Seiya shrugged. "Whatever you want to tell them, Taiki. It's your call."

"Why do I have to be the brain?"

Yaten finally regained his normal breathing pattern. "Because Seiya's really bad at it."

The three teenagers stood like that for quite some time, hugging and sniffling and breathing.

"I'm sorry," Taiki repeated for what Seiya approximated as the 20356th time.

"Forgiven," Yaten and Seiya chorused.

Taiki began to inch away, but neither of the boys let her go. "I think we have some phone calls to make..."

When Seiya sighed and Yaten began to sniffle, Taiki relented. "Okay, okay, it can wait a few more minutes."

Taiki felt a soft touch on her cheek. Yaten had managed to worm his arm up through their tangle of limbs and wiped something away.

"You're crying, Taiki," he observed. And yes, Taiki realized that she was.

"Female hormones?" Taiki tried as a few more slipped out.

"Come on," Seiya muttered, nudging her arm. "I think it's about time we talked. I mean, really talked. We haven't done that in..."

"...awhile," Yaten agreed. "You tried, Taiki, and we just weren't ready to own up to our own feelings."

"And we're going to do that now, whether we're ready or not," Seiya added.

So the three of them sat down on the creaking couch. Through the open window, a shooting star plummeted through the sky, leaving a silver trail in its wake.


End file.
